Sharon's New Government Increases Pressure on Arafat
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new right-wing government won parliamentary approval early today, and he declared that peace negotiations with the Palestinians would not resume until the violence stops and the current Palestinian leadership is replaced.

"Before returning to the diplomatic track there is a need for ending terror and incitement, for reforms within the Palestinian Authority to be implemented, and for replacing the existing leadership," Mr. Sharon said in remarks on Thursday afternoon directed at Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader.

The speech came a day after President Bush said that a war to topple President Saddam Hussein of Iraq would make the region more stable and could lay the groundwork for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Israel would be expected to support the creation of a Palestinian state and must stop expanding settlements, Mr. Bush said.

However, prospects for a swift resumption of the peace talks remain dim.

Mr. Bush has strongly supported Mr. Sharon during the Middle East fighting, and both have made clear they would like to see Mr. Arafat replaced, though Mr. Arafat's position appears solid for now.

Mr. Sharon's four-party coalition, which was formally approved in a vote shortly after midnight, holds 68 of the 120 seats in Parliament. None of the four parties are calling for a resumption of peace talks.

Two far-right groups, the National Union and the National Religious Party, reject a Palestinian state under any circumstances. Mr. Sharon's Likud Party, the largest single faction, with 40 seats, contains some members who do not want a Palestinian state and some like Mr. Sharon who say they would accept a limited state under certain conditions. The fourth coalition member, the center-right Shinui Party, favors resuming peace talks after Mr. Arafat is gone.

Palestinians accuse Mr. Sharon of erecting obstacles that have blocked diplomatic proposals by the United States and other would-be international mediators. In addition, Palestinian leaders say the hard-liners who will dominate the new Israeli government could aggravate tensions by emphasizing military actions and supporting the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

"President Bush is talking about a Palestinian state, and Sharon is determined to undermine it," said Saeb Erekat a cabinet member in the Palestinian Authority. "The only thing that is missing from this government is the peace process."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/28/international/middleeast/28MIDE.html